Various nitration processes are already known, particularly of ethane, propane and their mixtures in the gaseous phase as described in the copending U.S. Pat. application Ser. No. 25,594, U.S. Pat. No. 4,260,838, and Ser. No. 94,153. According to these processes, the quantitative ratios of the various constituents of the reaction mixture, the reaction contact times, temperatures, and reaction pressures are selected and controlled so that nitration of the hydrocarbons or their mixtures is carried out in the homogeneous gaseous phase, and as a function of the expected range of nitroparaffin products.
One of the present industrial problems lies in the search for means making it possible to obtain a percentage of different nitroparaffins suited to market demands. For example, it has been found that 2-nitropropane is presently not the most usable nitroparaffin; rather, requirements for nitromethane have grown as a function of the growing uses of this product. However, market demands change, and flexibility in the nature of the product produced, heretofore not readily feasible, is highly desired. While an increase in the reaction temperature results in a proportionally higher production of nitromethane, this undesirably requires a higher cost as a result of a more thorough degradation of the hydrocarbons into oxidized products. And, of course, higher temperatures require greater energy expenditures.